lorn* 


Duke   University   Libraries 

Report  of  the  S 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #215 


REPORT  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 


WAR  DEPARTMENT,  } 

Richmond,  14th  Dec,  1861.  \ 

Sir  :  My  report  of  the  operations  of  this  Department, 
and  of  the  armies  in  the  field,  must,  necessarily,  be  very  im- 
perfect. My  experience  has  been  too  brief,  to  permit  a  tho- 
rough mastery  of  all  the  details  of  so  vast  and  complicated 
an  organization,  as  that  now  presented  by  this  Department. 
I  can  only  refer  to  the  principal  occurrences  requiring  the 
special  notice  of  the  Congress,  and  suggest  some  difficulties 
and  embarrassments  of  administration,  that  can  only  be  re- 
medied by  the  legislative  power : 

1.  Since  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  official  reports 
have  been  received,  disclosing  the  gratifying  fact,  that  the 
population  of  Arizona  is  almost  unanimously  desirous  of  the 
annexation  of  that  territory,  to  the  Confederate  States.  The 
United  States  troops  there,  routed  and  put  to  flight,  by  the 
expedition  under  command  of  Lt.  Col.  John  R.  Baylor,  had 
at  one  time,  abandoned  the  country.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, Col.  Baylor,  after  satisfying  himself  of  the  wishes 
of  theinhabitants,  proceeded  upon  his  own  responsibility,  to 
assume  the  military  government  of  the  territory  of  Arizona. 
He  issued  a  proclamation,  extending  the  limits  of  the  terri- 
tory  to  latitude  36°  30'  North,  thence  due  West  to  the  Col- 
orado, and  down  that  stream  to  its  mouth.  He  also  raised 
several  companies  of  infantry,  furnished  by  the  people,  who 
readily  volunteered  in  our  service ;  placed  the  inhabitants  in 
this  manner  under  military  protection,  and  established  a 
Government,  closely  resembling  in  form  that  which  was 
found  to  work  so  satisfactorily,  when  the  United  States  made 
conquest  of  California. 

All  the  proceedings  of  Lt.  Col.  Baylor,  appear  to  have 
been  marked  by  prudence,  energy  and  sagacity,  and  to  be 
deserving  of  high  praise.     The  result  of  his  action  has  been 


the  securing  to  the  Confederacy,  of  n  portion  of  the  territo- 
ry formerly  common  to  all  the  States,  but  now  forming  a 
natural  appendage  to  our  Confederate  States ;  thus  opening 
a  pathway  to  the  Pacific,  and  guaranteeing  Western  Texas 
from  the  dangers  incident  to  allowing  the  Indian  Tribes  in 
that  extensive  territory,  to  remain   under  foreign  influence. 

The  report  herewith  presented,  marked  A,  gives  a  satis- 
factory statement  of  the  proceedings  of  Col.  Baylor. 

Since  his  success  in  expelling  the  Federal  troops,  and 
taking  peaceful  possession  of  the  Territory,  an  effort  has 
been  made  by  the  United  States,  to  disturb  the  tranquility 
of  the  inhabitants,  by  sending  in  a  force  of  about  2,500  men 
under  Col.  Canby,  who,  at  the  last  advices  was  marching 
towards  the  Headquarters  of  Col.  Baylor,  at  Dona  Ana. 
This  movement  had,  however,  been  anticipated,  and  General 
Sibley,  to  whom  that  military  department  has  been  confided, 
had  already  sent  forward  two  regiments  to  the  support  of 
Col.  Baylor,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  following  them  himself, 
with  a  third.  There  is  no  doubt,  that  the  entire  force  of 
Gen.  Sibley  must  already  have  arrived  within  supporting 
distance  of  Col.  Baylor's  command,  and  full  confidence  was 
entertained  by  our  leaders,  that  they  would  be  able  to  drive 
the  invading  forces  out  of  our  territory.  The  letters  of 
Gen.  Sibley,  of  the  8th  and  16th  November,  are  appended, 
for  the  further  information  of  Congress. 

In  organizing  a  more  permanent  Territorial  Government 
for  Arizona,  with  its  present  expanded  boundaries,  I  beg  to 
suggest,  that  the  population  is  of  so  mixed  a  character,  and  the 
number  of  inhabitants  educated  in  representative  institu- 
tions is  so  limited,  that  it  would  scarcely  be  practicable  to 
maintain  social  order,  and  ensure  the  execution  of  the  laws, 
by  an  elective  government.  Some  system  analogous  in  its 
nature,  to  that  adopted  for  the  Government  of  the  Orleans 
Territory,  by  the  Act  of  26th  March,  1804,  seems  to  be 
much  better  adapted,  at  least  for  the  present,  to  this  terri- 
tory ;  and  its  extent  of  surface  is  so  great,  that  Congress 
may,  perhaps,  deem  it  proper,  further  to  imitate  the  exam- 
ple set  in  the  Act  above  recited,  by  dividing  it  into  two 
governments. 

II.  At  the  first  session  of  the  Congress,  an  Act  was  pass- 
ed, providing  for  the  sending  of  a  Commissioner  to  the  Indian 
Tribes  North  of  Texas,  and  West  of  Arkansas,  with  the 
view  of  making  such  arrangements  for  an  alliance  with,  and 
the  protection  of,  the  Indians,  as  were  rendered  necessary 


by  the  disruption  of  the  Union,  and  our  natural  succession 
to  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  these 
Indians  were  concerned.  The  supervision  of  this  important 
branch  of  administrative  duty,  was  confided  to  the  State- 
Department,  by  which  Brig.  Gen.  Albert  Pike  was  selected', 
as  Commissioner. 

At  a  later  period  of  the  same  session,  a  Bureau  of  Indian' 
Affairs  was  created  by  law,  and  attached  to  this  Department, 
charged  with  the  management  of  our  relations  with  thelm- 
dian  tribes. 

The  correspondence  of  this  Department,  and  the  report  of 
Gen.  Pike,  exhibit  full  proof  of  the  zeal,  energy  and  fidelity 
with  which  he  conducted  his  arduous  mission,  and  the  suc- 
cess with  which,  it  was  crowned.  He  has  made  treaties  with 
the  entire  Indian  population  of  the  territory  in  question  ; 
has  secured  their  alliance,  has  enlisted  several  regiments  of 
their  warriors  in  our  service  ;  and  has  shown  a  rare  and  ad- 
mirable combination  of  the  qualities  chiefly  required  for 
success  in  such  a  mission,  namely,  sympathy  and  friendship 
for  the  Indians,  blended  with  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his 
Government.  These  treaties,  coupled  with  the  report  of 
Gen.  Pike,  form  the  subject  of  a  special  communication  to 
Congress,  and  I  now  submit  only  the  report  of  the  head 
of  the  bureau  in  this  department,  containing  a  succinct  nar- 
rative of  the  entire  administration  of  Indian  affairs,  from 
the  establishment  of  the  bureau,  to  the  present  date. 

III.  The  operations  of  the  army,  since  the  adjournment 
of  Congress,  on  the  31st  August,  afford  renewed  cause  of 
congratulation,  of  gratitude  to  Divine  Providence,  and 
of  admiration  for  the  gallant  defenders  of  our  righteous 
cause. 

Successful  in  a  large  number  of  minor  engagements,  sig- 
nal victories  have  crowned  their  arms  at  Leesburg  and  at 
Belmont. 

I  regret,  that  for  some  unexplained  reason,  the  report  of 
the  former  of  these  two  brilliant  achievements  has  not  yet 
peached  the  Department,  but  I  append  full  reports  of  the 
latter. 

You  will,  also,  find  annexed,  reports  of  the  less  important, 
though  not  less  gallant  and  meritorious  affairs,  at  Lewins- 
ville,  under  command  of  Colonel  (now  Brigadier  General) 
Stuart ;  and  at  Piketon,  under  command  of  Captains  May, 
Thomas,  Hawkins  and  Clay,  of  Col.  Williams's  command. 

The  decisive  repulses  of  the  enemy,  in  his  attacks  on  the- 


forces  at  Greenbrier  River,  under  Brig.  Gen.  Henry  R. 
Jackson,  and  on  the  army  of  Gen.  Floyd,  at  Carnifax  Fer- 
ry, merit  conspicuous  mention  ;  while  the  more  recent  lesson 
administered  to  the  insolent  invaders  of  our  soil,  by  Major 
General  Bragg,  and  his  brave  army  at  Pensacola,  affords 
ample  evidence  of  the  power  of  well  served,  and  properly 
protected  batteries,  to  resist,  successfully,  the  attacks  of  the 
most  formidable  vessels  of  the  hostile  navy. 

The  engrossing  labors  of  the  Department,  deprive  me  of 
the  coveted  pleasure  of  dwelling,  in  detail,  on  all  these  evi- 
dences of  the  valor  of  our  troops,  and  the  skill  and  gallant- 
ry of  their  commanders.  It  is  impossible,  however,  not  to 
call  special  attention  to  the  battle  of  Belmont,  as  affording 
a  splendid  example  of  the  qualities  of  both  officers  and  men. 

Let  the  reports  be  read,  and  all  will  concur  in  the  simple 
and  emphatic  praise  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Western  Department,  when  "  he  pronounces  the  work  well 
done."  Its  telling  effects  are  still  visible  upon  the  enemy, 
and  the  names  of  Polk,  Pillow,  Cheatham  and  McCown,  will 
remain  identified  with  its  history,  and  will  recur  to  the  mem- 
ory of  men,  whenever  mention  shall  be  made  of  the  battle  of 
Belmont. 

I  deeply  regret  that  I  am  not  able  to  give  greater  promi- 
nence, in  this  report,  to  the  battle  of  Leesburg — one  of  the 
most  important,  as  it  certainly  was  the  most  decisive,  in  its 
results,  of  the  whole  war.  The  terrible  loss  inflicted  on  the 
enemy,  when  compared  with  the  numbers  engaged,  far  ex- 
ceeds that  of  any  other  conflict  since  the  commencement  of 
hostilities,  and  I  still  hope  that  the  transmission  of  the  report 
to  the  Department,  prior  to  the  adjournment  of  Congress, 
may  enable  me  to  submit  it  to  you  in  time,  to  be  com- 
municated. 

You  wilJ  also  find  annexed,  the  reports  of  the  engagement 
on  Santa  Rosa  island,  and  of  the  movements  of  our  troops 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Cheat  Mountain. 

The  battle  of  Mancssas,  fought  on  the  21st  July,  was  not 
reported  to  the  Department  till  nearly  three  months  after- 
wards, viz:  on  the  15th  October,  and  belongs  appro- 
priately to  the  history  of  my  predecessor's  administra- 
tion of  this  Department ;  and  this  last  remark  also  applies 
to  the  battle  of  Oak  Hill,  fought  on  the  10th  August,  the 
report  of  which  arrived  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  just 
before  the  adjournment  of  Congress.  The  reports  of  both 
these  battles   are  appended,  and  the  history  of  those  two 


eventful  days,  on  which  the  large  and  well-appointed  hosts 
of  the  foe  were  beaten  back  and  put  to  rout  by  the  unflinch- 
ing courage  of  our  noble  volunteers,  fighting  for  hearth  and 
home,  and  liberty  and  independence,  will  remain  imperisha- 
ble monuments  to  the  gallant  generals  whose  names  have 
already  been  honored  by  the  unanimous  expression  of  the 
thanks  of  Congress,  and  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  who 
proved  themselves  well  worthy  of  such  leaders. 

This  series  of  triumphant  engagements  has  been  some- 
what checkered  by  the  result  of  the  recent  bombardment  at 
Port  Royal,  of  which,  also,  no  official  report  has  been  re- 
ceived. It  is,  however,  known  that  some  earthworks,  un- 
provided with  casemates,  or  shelter  of  any  kind,  proved  in- 
adequate to  defend  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  against  an 
attacking  fleet,  formidably  armed  with  more  than  ten-fold 
the  number  of  heavy  guns  that  were  mounted  in  the  batte- 
ries on  shore.  The  enemy  has,  consequently,  obtained  pos- 
session of  a  cluster  of  sea  islands  on  the  coast  of  South 
Carolina,  which  it  is  impossible  to  defend,  without  the  aid  of 
vessels  of  war.  The  results  of  this  occupation,  however, 
are  confined  to  the  infliction  of  such  partial  losses,  and  suf- 
fering by  non-combatants,  as  are  attendant  on  the  predatory 
warfare  in  which  our  enemies  specially  delight,  as  most  con- 
genial to  their  tastes  and  least  menacing  to  their  safety. 
They  have  not  yet  ventured  beyond  the  protection  of  the 
heavy  guns  of  their  vessels,  while  their  hopes  of  plunder 
have  been  disappointed  by  the  heroic  resolve  of  our  uncon- 
querable brethren  of  South  Carolina,  who  have,  with  their 
own  hands,  applied  the  torch  to  everything  susceptible  of 
conversion  into  booty  for  the  solace  of  the  marauders. 

IV.  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  of  the  very  marked  im- 
provement in  the  condition  of  our  troops,  and  the  decided 
decrease  in  the  number  of  the  sick.  Nothing  has  given  to 
the  Department  greater  concern,  nor  engaged  more  anxious 
care,  than  the  provision  for  the  comfort  of  the  sick  soldier; 
and  although  much  has  been  done,  very  much  still  remains 
to  be  done  for  the  amelioration  of  his  condition.  It  is  a 
grave  error,  however,  to  suppose  that  any  regulations  on 
this  subject,  however  wise,  prudent  and  humane,  can  avail 
without  the  aid  and  co-operation  of  the  commanders  in  the 
field.  If  Colonels  forget  that  they  bear  a  parental  relation 
towards  their  regiments,  and  neglect  the  most  obvious  sani- 
tary precautions ;  if  medical  officers  abandon  the  care  of  the 
sick,  without  fear  of  check  or  reproof  from  regimental  com- 


manders ;  if  generals  deem  the  supervision  of  the  hospital 
arrangements  and  treatment  of  the  sick  a  task  too  irksome 
to  be  endured ;  and  if  the  commanders  of  armies  execute 
military  movements  with  entire  disregard  of  the  effect  to  be 
produced,  whether  on  the  sick  or  the  well,  no  effort  of  the 
Department  can  avail  to  prevent  great  suffering  and  sacrifice 
of  life.  I  have  endeavored,  by  specific  regulations  for  the 
care  and  transportation  of  the  sick  from  camps  to  hospitals, 
by  providing  special  trains  for  their  accommodation,  and  by 
relaxing  the  vigor  of  the  former  rules  in  regard  to  furloughs 
and  discharges  on  account  of  sickness,  to  diminish,  as  far  as 
lay  in  my  power,  much  of  the  suffering  of  our  brave  volun- 
teers, and  I  append  copies  of  these  regulations  for  the  infor- 
mation of  Congress.  Less,  however,  has  been  effected  than 
I  had  hoped  from  the  operation  of  these  regulations.  It 
seems  almost  impossible  to  obtain  that  regular,  faithful  and 
systematic  compliance  with  rules  which  can  alone  maintain 
the  discipline  and  preserve  the  efficiency  of  large  bodies  of 
men ;  and  I  have  been  disappointed  in  more  than  one  in- 
stance, where  reliance  had  been  confidently  placed  on  the 
disposition  of  commanding  generals  to  co-operate  with  the 
Department  in  reforms  urgently  needed  in  the  treatment  of 
the  sick.  If  other  measures  fail,  I  shall  not  shrink  from 
the  responsibility  of  reporting  to  you  the  names  of  officers, 
however  high  in  command,  who  may,  by  disregard  of  their 
duty  in  this  respect,  prove  themselves  unworthy  of  the  trust 
now  reposed  in  them. 

It  is  proper,  before  passing  from  this  subject,  to  observe 
that  happy  effects  have  already  resulted  from  the  general 
examination,  by  medical  boards,  of  the  surgical  staff  of  the 
army.  Quite  a  number,  who  had  been  appointed  on  the  re- 
commendation of  the  men  themselves,  have  proven  unequal 
to  the  duties  of  their  station ;  others  were  found  incompe- 
tent from  carelessness  and  neglect,  while  in  some  instances 
there  was  gross  ignorance  of  the  very  elements  of  the  pro- 
fession. The  efficiency  of  the  corps  has  been  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  purgation  it  has  undergone,  and  I  think  we 
may  venture  to  hope  that  we  have  passed  through  the  most 
trying  ordeal  of  the  war,  as  relates  to  camp  diseases.  In 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  alone,  with  a  considerable  increase 
in  its  forces,  there  has  been,  within  the  last  sixty  days,  a 
diminution  of  at  least  one-half  in  the   number  of  the   sick. 

Y.  I  have  already,  in  a  separate  paper,  commented  on  the 
system  of  raising  troops  for  short  periods,,,  and  endeavored 


to    point   out   the   disastrous  effects   of    such   a   course   of 
policy. 

Persuaded,  as  I  am,  of  the  vital  necessity  of  adhering  to 
the  rule  you  had  adopted  on  this  subject  from  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  I  have  steadily  resisted  all  importunity 
to  receive  troops  for  a  less  period  than  three  years,  or  the 
war,  unless  they  furnished  their  own  arms.  On  first  enter- 
ing on  the  duties  of  the  Department,  the  tenders  of  troops 
were  very  large,  and  it  was  not  at  all  unusual  for  me  to  re- 
fuse offers  of  5,000  men  per  day.  Very  soon  it  was  ascer- 
tained throughout  the  country,  that  the  War  Department 
could  not  be  importuned  into  receiving  unarmed  men  for 
twelve  months,  and  the  impetuous  ardor  of  our  people  to 
rush  to  the  defence  of  their  liberties,  induced  tenders  of 
troops  for  the  war.  A  number  of  such  regiments  had  al- 
ready been  organized,  more  were  in  progress,  and  the  policy 
of  the  Administration  was  on  the  eve  of  being  crowned  with 
entire  success,  when  it  was  embarrassed  and  impeded  by  a 
very  unexpected  cause.  In  several  of  the  States,  the  Gov- 
ernors, apprehensive  of  attack  at  home,  and  actuated  by  the 
natural  desire  of  aiding  in  the  defence  of  their  own  States, 
failed  to  perceive  that  the  only  effective  means  of  attaining 
that  end,  was  by  a  concentration  of  the  common  strength 
under  one  head,  and  that  an  attempt  by  each  State  to  make 
separate  defence  against  so  powerful  an  enemy  as  that  which 
we  are  now  combating,  could  result  in  nothing  but  the  de- 
feat of  each  in  detail.  In  disregard  of  so  obvious  a  truth, 
several  of  the  States  undertook  to  raise  independent  armies 
to  repel  invasion,  retained  at  home  arms  and  munitions,  and 
called  for  volunteers  for  home  service  for  short  terms,  allur- 
ing them  by  proposals  to  arm  and  equip  them  and  retain 
them  solely  for  service  within  the  State.  The  fatal  effects 
of  so  short-sighted  a  policy  became  instantly  apparent. 
Companies  already  organized  and  ready  to  be  mustered  into 
the  Confederate  service  for  the  war,  marched  out  of  their 
camps  of  rendezvous  to  enlist  in  State  service  for  three,  four 
or  six  months ;  and  State  Commissaries  and  Quartermasters 
established  themselves,  as  rival  purchasers,  at  posts  where 
Confederate  officers  were  stationed,  thus  subserving  the  ends 
of  speculators  and  stimulating  their  constantly  increasing 
exactions.  Confusion  was  also  introduced  into  military  ope- 
rations. Officers  became  doubtful  as  to  their  duties  and  po- 
sitions. State  and  Confederate  Engineers  and  other  officers 
were  liable  to  be  ordered  each  to  perform  the  same  duty  by 


8 

independent  commanders ;  and  nothing  but  inefficiency  and 
disaster  could  be  expected  from  such  a  system. 

It  is,  of  course,  not  within  the  power  of  the  Confederate 
Government,  otherwise  than  by  the  Aveight  of  its  counsels,  to 
prevent  such  action  as  that  to  which  I  have  just  referred,  on 
the  part  of  the  several  States,  unwise  and  disastrous  as  may 
be  its  effects ;  but  it  is  surely  competent  for  the  Congress  to 
declare,  that  no  State  can  expect  its  expenditures  on  such 
objects  to  be  reimbursed.  The  waste  of  money  resulting 
from  these  short  enlistments  is  enormous.  The  assertion  is 
by  no  means  extravagant,  that  a  long  war,  conducted  by  six 
months'  volunteers,  would  cost  three  times  as  much  as  the 
same  war,  conducted  by  three  years'  volunteers,  without 
taking  into  consideration  the  great  difference  in  the  efficiency 
of  each  of  these  classes  of  troops,  after  the  lapse  of  the  first  six 
months.  In  the  single  item  of  transportation,  which  is  a 
heavy  burthen  on  the  Treasury,  the  cost  for  the  former  would 
be  six-fold  that  of  the  latter.  There  is,  therefore,  no  jus- 
tice nor  propriety,  in  imposing  upon  the  Confederacy,  which 
is  conducting  a  common  war,  at  the  common  expense,  on 
sound  principles,  the  burthen  of  any  expenditures  created  by 
separate  States,  which  may  deem  proper  to  carry  on  an  inde- 
pendent system  of  defence,  so  expensive  and  so  impolitic  as 
that  to  which  I  have  alluded. 


VI.  The  Corps  of  Engineers  of  the  army  is  composed,  at 
present,  of  only  twelve  officers,  while  five-fold  that  number 
are  needed. 

No  provision  exists  for  the  appointment  of  engineers  in 
the  provisional  army.  There  is  a  large  body  of  gentlemen, 
educated  for  scientific  pursuits,  not  military  engineers  by 
profession,  but  whose  services  it  has  been  indispensable  to 
secure  for  engineering  purposes,  and  who  now  occupy  in 
the  army  the  position  of  mere  hired  employees,  without  rank 
or  authority  as  officers,  and  whose  efficiency  is  consequently 
much  impaired.     In  other  cases  they  have  been  appointed  to 


the  lowest  grade  in  the  regular  army — that  of  second  Lieu- 
tenant— and  then  assigned  to  engineer  duties,  with  higher 
temporary  rank,  under  the  act  of  21st  May,  1861,  authoriz- 
ing the  President  to  confer  such  higher  rank  on  officers  of 
the  Confederate  army,  for  service  with  volunteer  troops.  In 
a  word,  various  expedients  have  been  used  to  supply 
this  indispensable  means  of  public  defence,  and  to  obviate 
difficulties  arising  from  deficient  legislation,  but  the  subject 
needs  immediate  attention,  and  I  trust  you  will  concur  in 
my  earnest  recommendation,  that  Congress  authorize  the  ap- 
pointment of  at  least  fifty  officers  of  engineers  in  the  pro- 
visional army,  of  rank  not  higher  than  that  of  Captain. 

VII.  I  was  on  the  eve  of  concluding  this  paper,  when  the 
official  reports  of  the  battle  of  Leesburg,  and  the  engage- 
ment at  Pensacola,  were  received,  and  they  are  herewith 
submitted. 

In  the  battle  of  Leesburg  our  forces  numbered,  in  all, 
seventeen  hundred  and  nine  men,  and  were  opposed  to  a 
force  amounting,  at  Ball's  Bluff,  to  five  regiments  and  three 
pieces  of  Artillery,  while  compelled,  at  the  same  time,  to 
keep  in  check  four  regiments  and  a  Squadron  of  Cavalry, 
within  supporting  distance,  at  Edward's  Ferry. 

In  this  unequal  contest  our  whole  loss  was,  in  killed  and 
wounded,  153,  and  two  of  our  men  were  taken  prisoners. 
The  loss  of  the  enemy,  as  far  as  known,  was  1,300  killed, 
wounded  and  drowned,  and  710  taken  prisoners;  including 
among  their  killed,  General  Baker  and  several  other  com- 
missioned officers,  and  among  the  prisoners,  22  commis- 
sioned officers — a  total  of  loss  inflicted  on  the  enemy  con- 
siderably in  excess  of  the  whole  number  of  our  troops  en- 
gaged. 

Among  the  substantial  fruits  of  this  brilliant  victory  were 
1,500  stand  'of  arms,  three  pieces  of  cannon,  one  stand  of 
colors,  and  a  large  quantity  of  accoutrements  and  camp 
furniture. 

The  highest  praise  is  due  to  Brigadier  General  N.  G. 
Evans,  and  to  the  brave  men,  whose  intrepid  conduct  was  so 
signal,  as  to  make  the  mention  of  any  one  name  almost  un- 
just to  others.  Colonel  Hunton,  of  the  8th  Virginia,  Col- 
onel Featherston,  of  the  17th  Mississippi,  Colonel  Barks- 
dale,  of  the  13th  Mississippi,  Colonel  Burt,  of  the  18th 
Mississippi,  and  Colonel  Jenifer,  of  the  Cavalry,  with  their 
different  commands,  alike  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
valor  and  good  conduct ;  but  the  gallant  Burt  did  not  live 


10 

to  receive  his  reward,  in  the  gratitude  and  admiration  of  his 
country.  He  fell,  mortally  wounded,  while  gallantly  lead- 
ing his  regiment  to  the  charge,  in  the  face  of  a  terrible  fire, 
about  two  hours  before  the  final  bayonet  charge  of  our  en- 
tire force,  which  drove  the  enemy  headlong  from  the  field. 

The  report  of  General  Bragg  gives  the  full  history  of  the 
abortive  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  destroy  Fort  McRee  at 
the  entrance  of  Pensacola  harbor,  by  a  combined  attack  from 
Fort  Pickens  and  two  large  naval  steamers,  supposed  to  be 
the  Niagara  and  the  Hartford. 

The  weight  of  metal  used  in  this  tremendous  bombard- 
ment was  such  as  to  shake  the  houses  in  Pensacola,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  ten  miles,  and  to  cover  the  waters  of  the  bay  with 
fish  stunned  by  the  concussion. 

The  heroic  conduct  of  Colonel  Villepigue,  with  his 
Georgians  and  Mississippians,  while  exposed  for  two  days  to 
this  tempest  of  fire,  the  coolness  and  self-possession  of  both 
officers  and  men,  are  graphically  described  in  the  narrative 
of  their  General ;  while  the  latter  evidently  forgets  that  any 
meed  of  praise  is  due  to  the  Chief,  whose  high  military 
qualities  are  thus  reflected  by  those  who  have,  for  long  and 
weary  months,  been  so  instructed  by  his  counsels,  and  so 
inspired  by  his  example,  as  to  become  the  theme  of  his  own 
admiration. 

Our  casualties,  during  the  entire  engagement,  were  six 
killed  and  twenty-one  wounded.  Of  the  former,  five  lost 
their  lives  by  the  falling  of  an  ill-constructed  magazine  in 
one  of  the  batteries.  Among  the  latter  was  Colonel  Ville- 
pigue, who,  notwithstanding  the  pain  of  a  very  severe 
wound,  not  only  persisted  in  retaining  his  command,  but 
passed  nearly  the  whole  night  in  repairing  the  damage  done 
to  his  work  by  the  bombardment  of  the  day. 

Your  attention,  in  reading  the  account  of  this  battle,  will 
be  arrested  by  the  renewed  example  of  the  barbarities,  dis- 
graceful even  to  savages,  which  characterize  the  warfare  of 
the  enemy.  The  name  of  Colonel  Harvey  Brown  must  be 
remembered  with  execration,  when  it  is  known,  that  without 
the  slightest  warning,  his  opening  fire  was  specially  directed 
against  the  navy  yard,  occupied,  to  his  knowledge,  by  wo- 
men, children  and  non-combatants  ;  and,  that,  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  second  day,  he  gave  vent  to  his  rage  and  mortifi- 
cation at  the  failure  of  his  attack  on  Fort  McRee,  by  turning 
his  guns  first  towards  the  hospital,  over  which  the  yellow 
flag  was  flying,  and  afterwards  upon  the  deserted  dwellings 


11 

of  non-combatants  in  the  villages  of  Warrington  and  Wool- 
sey. 

The  damage  done  to  the  navy  yard  and  fort  by  this  bom- 
bardment was  insignificant,  and  the  deliberate  destruction 
of  two  churches,  and  some  twenty  humble  habitations  of  poor 
laboring  men  and  women,  together  with  the  violation  of  the 
hospital  flag,  constitute  the  total  exploit  of  Colonel  Harvey 
Brown. 

The  damage  done  to  the  enemy  by  the  return  fire  of  our 
batteries,  is  only  conjectural ;  one  of  the  naval  steamers  was 
evidently  disabled,  as  she  did  not  aid  her  consort  in  the  re- 
newed attack  on  the  23d,  while  the  fire,  both  of  the  fort  and 
of  the  steamer,  on  that  day,  was  much  slackened,  and  has  not 
since  been  renewed. 

Just  as  I  close  this  paper,  I  receive  a  dispatch  announcing 
the  repulse  of  the  enemy — five  thousand  strong — by  our 
forces  1,200  in  number,  under  Colonel  Johnson,  on  the 
Greenbrier  river,  and  hope,  in  a  few  days,  to  present  you  the 
official  report. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  P.  BENJAMIN, 

Secretary  of  War. 

To  the  President. 


peRtmlife® 
PH  8.5 


